


Over a cup of tea

by Crystalized_Flowers



Series: The Ways We've Said "I Love You." [4]
Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: A first for me, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Prompt #4, Yes this contains genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 03:31:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11245434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalized_Flowers/pseuds/Crystalized_Flowers
Summary: It's Wednesday and the third time this week Ai has shown up at her front door without notice and Camus has a lingering feeling that a certain silver-haired man is going to get it.





	Over a cup of tea

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a prompt series, please check out series to understand.
> 
> I actually quite like this AU timeline, it may appear again. Oh my god, I really stared at this prompt for the longest time and was like "...can I really make this happen?"
> 
> When in doubt over tea, get Camus involved and some gender bending. And some OOCness.
> 
> Oops.
> 
> Slight Reiji/Fem!Camus. Ai is 18 and everyone else are their normal ages in All Star, not ASAS.

Camus opens her door and promptly sighs in utter exasperation. "Not  _again_ , Ai."

The younger girl blows up her cheeks, looking completely adorable despite her distressed expression. "Sometimes," she starts, her voice just as exasperated as Camus's for a different reason, "he is simply  _insufferable_."

"It's the third time this week. And it's only Wednesday." Camus mutters, but nevertheless allows her friend inside her house, shutting the door behind her.

"What did Kurosaki do now?" She questions once Ai is seated at her kitchen table. She reaches over to prepare water for tea in order to calm the irate girl down. To others, Ai doesn't seem particularly angry, but Camus can tell that the usually stoic girl is boiling with rage.

Before Ai can answer, a cheerful voice drifts into the kitchen. "Myu-chan~" Reiji pokes his head into the kitchen, smiling happily like always. He blinks in surprise when he sees the cyan haired girl in the kitchen. "Eh? Ai-Ai? What are you doing here?"

The blond university student groans; he always seemed to have the worst timing. "Reiji, leave this instant. Ai is upset and I'm sure having you around will make it worse."

"Eh?" Reiji makes a dramatic show of being offended. "That isn't true, right, Ai-Ai?"

Ai doesn't reply, but just buries her face in her arms. Reiji's expression softens, and his eyes hold understanding. "Ran-Ran, again?" He asks Camus quietly.

"Who else?" She replies with a sigh. "So, if you understand, leave. And I know what you're thinking but don't you dare go beat Kurosaki up for this, because I doubt it would make anything better."

"But Ai-Ai-"

"If you do, I'll make sure you die a painful death. Are we clear?" His girlfriend's ice blue eyes glare at him maliciously, promising to carry out her threat.

"L-Loud and clear." He salutes before pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. He says a quiet good-bye to Ai, though the cyan haired girl did not make any signs of hearing him, and leaves the house.

"Sorry about him." Camus places two cups of tea on the table after Reiji leaves, adjusting her dress so she can sit comfortably across from Ai. Ai looks up at the aroma of the tea and gratefully accepts the cup offered to her. A few sips of Camus's excellently brewed tea calm her down immediately.

"Are you finally ready to tell me what happened, Ai? I don't have all day." A small smile rises to Ai's face at Camus's self-important tone. Being friends for a long time, she knows that Camus genuinely is worried about her, even if she doesn't seem like it. This is one of Camus's methods to coax her to talk.

However, her small smile at her friend's concern soon fades as why she has been taking refuge at Camus's house so often in the past few days resurfaces in her thoughts. The last three times that she had barged in uninvited, she had refused to voice her problem to her friend. Camus had gave up prying the answer out of her the last few times, but Ai feels a pang of guilt from continuously putting her friend in this situation without explanation.

"Ranmaru... has been arguing with me about my scholarship," she says quietly, watching her tea intently. She hears Camus's surprised intake of breath when she actually answers, but nothing more.

They sit in silence for a while before Camus takes a sip of her tea. "What did he think about it?" she asks carefully. Camus knows that the scholarship to America is a big deal for Ai. It's her dream and something that she was very unsure about telling her boyfriend.

Camus has easily figured out that the reason why Ai had been taking refuge at her house was because of her scholarship. It was obvious that Kurosaki wouldn't agree with her choice. Camus had never liked him, but for Ai's sake and the fact that he wasn't particularly bad to Ai caused her to stay quiet about her opinion of her younger friend's boyfriend. To be honest, she can't figure out what her cute, book-smart young friend saw in the older, rude, and violent man.

"He... he was upset." Ai admits. "I told him that I hope that he'll support me, but he walked away. When I tried to talk to him again, he locked me out of our apartment and jammed the door so I can't get in. That's why I've been coming to you. When I manage to get in with my key when he's not watching, all we end up doing is yelling until he kicks me out again. He... doesn't understand why I can't go to a university in Japan. He isn't... willing to keep a long distance relationship. I... don't know what to do, Camus." She trembles, closing her eyes so her friend doesn't see the tears swimming within them.

Camus wants to comfort her, but she isn't sure that she will be able to when she is overflowing with hate for her friend's boyfriend. How dare he act so selfishly?! The two have been dating for over a year and she knows how much Ai cares for him. And for him to even oppose her dream just because of the distance...

She murmurs some soothing words to Ai before stepping into the living room to call her boyfriend. "Reiji."

"Eh, Myu-chan? Is Ai-Ai ok now?"

"About that, come over to my house for a bit and watch her. Comfort her if you can. I have a Kurosaki Ranmaru to talk to." She can hear the anger in her own voice, and apparently Reiji can too.

"But Myu-chan, you said-"

"You can't beat him up, but  _I_ certainly can." With that, she ends the call.

...

It doesn't take Camus long to reach the familiar address of Ai and Ranmaru's shared apartment. She raps her hand on the door immediately. A muffled, yet fierce voice from inside answers her.

"Go away, Ai."

"It's not Ai."

There's shuffling on the other side of the door, and it opens, revealing Ranmaru's looming form. Camus admits that he isn't exactly bad looking, but his personality was disgraceful. And she knows that he has similar thoughts of distaste for her, his girlfriend's best friend.

He sneers at her, though his eyes hide his actual inner turmoil. "Oh, it's just you-"

He never manages to finish that sentence. Though Ranmaru is a pretty tall man, Camus is not short herself and her heels are more than enough for her to be able to grab the collar of his shirt and pull him down to her level. She usually doesn't commit such vulgar acts, but she'll make an exception for Ai's sake. "You selfish  _peasant_!" She spits in his face.

He is taken by surprise at the girl's action and stares at her for a moment. Ranmaru had never liked Camus, who always wore long dresses and a fancy braid, acting like she should be treated like a princess. Her pompous attitude rubbed him the wrong way. He never understood how Ai could be friends with her. But now, he can see the pure anger in her eyes and the protectiveness she practically radiates.

"Listen here," If Camus was a little bit less mannered, she would have growled, but she manages to keep her tone relatively human, "Do you know how much Ai has worked to achieve that scholarship?" She wastes no time, immediately getting to the point. "You obviously don't, considering that you would stop her from reaching her dreams just because you can't handle a long-distance relationship. You've been with her for barely two years, I've been by her side since childhood. I'd be perfectly willing to convince her to break up with you so that she can do what she has always dreamed of doing. I never liked you anyways. But I can tell that Ai loves you. So I took all of this trouble to come knock some sense into your head." Her glare is fierce, and honestly, Ranmaru is a bit intimidated.

"I'll tell you right now: Ai is going to America no matter what you think. Now you have a choice. You can break up with her, or you can support her. It's your fault if she slips out of your hands."

She stalks off, leaving Ranmaru staring after her.

...

Ai walks into Camus's kitchen the next morning to find her friend setting up the table in a rather professional manner. Camus's normal teacups are not in use, but her more fancy teacups were, beautiful floral patterns printed on them. The normal white tablecloth was switched for a lilac one with lace edges.

Ai observes the sight for a moment before realizing what it probably was for. "Ah, Camus, if you're going to invite Reiji over, I'll just let myself out. Sorry to disturb."

She brushes past Camus on her way to the door, but Camus grabs her wrist lightly. "Sit down, Ai."

"Eh?" Ai blinks as her friend gently pushes her into one of the chairs. "What-"

The doorbell cuts off her sentence and Camus brushes her question off in favor of leaving the kitchen to answer the door. "You're late." Ai hears Camus snap. Is it Reiji?

The other person's reply is inaudible to Ai, but she can hear Camus's reply. "Just get in here. If you distress her again, you will pay, you hear me? And don't mess up my house."

Footsteps approach the kitchen and Camus pokes her head in. "I'm going out for a while, Ai. Call me if you need anything. In the meantime, this peasant will keep you company." Ai doesn't get a chance to reply before Camus leaves the apartment, locking the door behind her.

Ai is smart. She quickly realizes with horror who her friend had left her behind with before he even appears in the doorway, looking awkward and uncomfortable. His eyes meet hers immediately and Ai feels her heart racing at his usual intense gaze. She isn't sure what he sees in her eyes though as he soon averts his eyes, landing on the set up in the kitchen instead.

His face is priceless, twisting into something between disgust and horror. Ai forgets their conflict for a moment to giggle at his expression. His gaze flicks back to her.

"Did  _she_ set this up?" he asks in apprehension.

"Camus has a name, Ranmaru." Ai chides lightheartedly, the tension between them dissipating momentarily. She stands up, picking up the cups of tea, walking towards the living room. She can hear Ranmaru hesitate for a moment before following her.

They end up sitting on opposite sides of the room. Ai doesn't pass him the tea, instead placing it on the coffee table so he can pick it up himself. Even those subtle movements signal to him that the tension between them has returned. Neither want to be the one to break the silence, each staring at their tea like it is much more interesting than it actually is.

Ranmaru doesn't want to be the one to speak first, but considering that he is the cause of their current predicament, he does, "Ai."

She glances up, not sure what to think of their current situation. Ranmaru's face colors slightly once her attention is on him. Her beautiful sea colored eyes are shy and worried and the way her hair is down in a rare fashion in comparison to her twin tails. Now that he is able to calmly face her and take Camus's words from earlier to heart, he knows his answer. "I... I'm sorry, Ai."

Her eyes widen, clearly not used to him to say such a thing. He's flustered, not quite used to it either and lowers his gaze back to the tea. "I was acting selfishly," he admits quietly. "I used to not be able to trust women, and... I guess I was feeling insecure. I..." He swallows his pride, "I didn't think about your feelings or hard work at all. I'm sorry."

He wonders what Ai's expression is but doesn't dare to look up. After a few beats of silence, he hears a faint breath of amusement. "Camus... talked to you, didn't she?"

"More like grabbed me by the collar and threatened me," he grumbles, picking up the tea to hide his embarrassed expression. He takes a small sip before nearly spitting it out, coughing violently.

"Ranmaru?" Ai is by his side in an instant, patting his back. She picks up the tea, taking a sip. "Ah. Camus put her own normal amount of sugar in here," she realizes, unfazed.

"So... sweet..." Ranmaru manages between coughs. Ai fights the smile that threatens to rise to her lips as she watches her boyfriend suffer.

Once his coughing fit dies down, Ai speaks, her voice quiet again. "So... you don't mind if I go to America, Ranmaru?"

"If it's what you want," he murmurs, turning his head to meet her gaze with his passionate heterochromatic one, "I'll support you."

Ai watches him, this man that she loves who is willing to accept her decision, one that could have pulled them apart. A smile of relief gradually spreads on her face and she leans in, pecking him on the cheek, "Thank you."

They convey their feelings to each other, the overly sweet cup of tea left to cool on the coffee table.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is probably irrelevant, but I drew a gender bent Ai in idol clothing so if y'all wanna see it, here... https://crystalized-flowers.tumblr.com/post/162998827663/mikaze-ai-female-idol-form-simple-sketch-that-i


End file.
